Kean puts Juventus on brink of Serie A title

MILAN: Teenage sensation Moise Kean scored the winner to put Juventus one step away from an eighth consecutive Serie A title on Saturday as a 2-1 comeback win over AC Milan pushed the champions 21 points clear at the top.

Kean — the victim of racist abuse earlier this week in Cagliari — came on as a substitute and fired in the winner on 84 minutes for his fifth goal in as many league games.

Juve would have sealed a 35th Scudetto late yesterday with seven matches to spare — the earliest any team has won Serie A — if second-placed Napoli lost at home against Genoa.

Juve played without injured Cristiano Ronaldo as they prepare for their Champions League quarter-final, first leg against Ajax.

But 19-year-old Kean has stepped up in the absence of the Portuguese superstar who is battling to be fit for Wednesday’s game in Amsterdam.

“Even today Kean came on and scored, he is very good at that,” said Allegri of the youngster who also scored twice in two Euro 2020 qualifiers for Italy.

“He’s a young man who is doing very well, but let’s leave him to be calm. Will he play on Wednesday (against Ajax)? We’ll see, the substitutes are important as we saw today.”

For Milan, the defeat further damages their Champions League ambitions with just one point from their last four Serie A games.

Roma, also targeting a Champions League berth, got back winning with captain Daniele De Rossi scoring the only goal against Sampdoria, to sit sixth, equal on points with Atalanta.